Combat, Ritual, and Performance: Anthropology of the Martial Arts

by David E. Jones

Overview

This is the first book to describe martial arts and martial behaviors as serious topics deserving of serious study. Although there have been a number of readers dealing with warfare, this is the only one that, among other things, focuses on the warrior, both ancient and modern.

Presents a collection of readings which introduce the study of martial behaviors in a cross-cultural context. The subject matter ranges from a consideration of the warclub as weapon and status symbol among the chiefdoms of the American Southwest at the time of European contact to contemporary ritual warfare in the highlands of Bolivia.

All over the world, warriors have left their mark on culture. Their codes of behavior become the basis of diplomacy, models of service, and courage in the protection of social institutions. Chivalry in the West arose from the codes of the noble knights and Bushido, (The Way of the Warrior), the Bible of the Samurai, still serves as the basis of etiquette in modern Japan. In practically every society myths and tales of culture heroes who are warriors are important in the enculturation and socialization of children. Martial arts, which are stylized behaviors displaying techniques related to those practiced on the battlefield, are considered here to be more about culture, art, and history than about fighting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780897897792
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/30/2002
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

DAVID E. JONES is Professor of Anthropology, University of Central Florida.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Combat, Ritual, and Performance by David Jones
Toward a Theory of Martial Arts as Performance Art by Deborah Klens-Bigman
The Ayyars: Warriors of Seistan (Afghanistan) by Mohammed
Competitive Performance and Cultural Identity in Southwest Tanzania by James Ellison
The Women's Army of the Dahomey by Catherine Hodge McCoid and Yvonne J. Johnson
Wave: People: Martial Arts and the American Imagination by John J. Donohue
Pehlwani: Indian Wrestling and Somatic Nationalism by Joseph S. Alter
Ritual and the Ideal of Society in Karate by Michael Ashkenazi
Dangers Encounters: Ritual Battles in Andean Bolivia by Elayne Zorn
Theater of Combat: A Critical Look at the Chinese Martial Arts by Charles Holcombe
Bwang: A Martial Art of the Caroline Islands by William A. Lessa and Carlos G. Velez-Ibabez
Warclubs and Falcon Warriors: Warclub Use in Southeastern Native American Chiefdoms by Wayne Van Horne
Herding the Ox, Wielding the Sword by John J. Donohue
Index